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CRITICALANALYSIS

CRITICALANALYSIS
Thepurposeforwritingacritiqueistoevaluatesomebody'swork(abook,an
essay,amovie,apainting...)inordertoincreasethereader'sunderstandingofit.A
criticalanalysisissubjectivewritingbecauseitexpressesthewriter'sopinionor
evaluationofatext.Analysismeanstobreakdownandstudytheparts.Writinga
criticalpaperrequirestwosteps:criticalreadingandcriticalwriting.

Criticalreading:
1.Identifytheauthor'sthesisandpurpose
2.Analyzethestructureofthepassagebyidentifyingallmainideas
3.Consultadictionaryorencyclopediatounderstandmaterialthatis
unfamiliartoyou
4.Makeanoutlineoftheworkorwriteadescriptionofit
5.Writeasummaryofthework
6.Determinethepurposewhichcouldbe
Toinformwithfactualmaterial
Topersuadewithappealtoreasonoremotions
Toentertain(toaffectpeople'semotions)
7.Evaluatethemeansbywhichtheauthorhasaccomplishedhispurpose
Ifthepurposeistoinform,hasthematerialbeenpresentedclearly,
accurately,withorderandcoherence?
Ifthepurposeistopersuade,lookforevidence,logicalreasoning,contrary
evidence
Ifthepurposewastoentertain,determinehowemotionsareaffected:doesit
makeyoulaugh,cry,angry?Whydiditaffectyou?
Considerthefollowingquestions:Howisthematerialorganized?Whoisthe
intendedaudience?Whatarethewriter'sassumptionsabouttheaudience?What
kindoflanguageandimagerydoestheauthoruse?

SAMPLEOUTLINEFORCRITICALESSAY
Afterthepassageunderanalysishasbeencarefullystudied,thecritiquecanbe
draftedusingthissampleoutline.
I.Backgroundinformationtohelpyourreadersunderstandthenatureofthe
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CRITICALANALYSIS

work
A.Informationaboutthework
1.Title
2.Author
3.Publicationinformation
4.Statementoftopicandpurpose
B.Thesisstatementindicatingwriter'smainreactiontothework
II.Summaryordescriptionofthework
III.Interpretationand/orevaluation
A.Discussionofthework'sorganization
B.Discussionofthework'sstyle
C.Effectiveness
D.Discussionofthetopic'streatment
E.Discussionofappealtoaparticularaudience

Remember:
Avoidintroducingyourideasbystating"Ithink"or"inmyopinion."Keepthe
focusonthesubjectofyouranalysis,notonyourself.Identifyingyouropinions
weakensthem.
Alwaysintroducethework.Donotassumethatbecauseyourreaderknowswhat
youarewritingabout,youdonotneedtomentionthework'stitle.
Otherquestionstoconsider:Isthereacontroversysurroundingeitherthepassage
orthesubjectwhichitconcerns?
Whataboutthesubjectmatterisofcurrentinterest?
Whatistheoverallvalueofthepassage?
Whatareitsstrengthsandweaknesses?
Supportyourthesiswithdetailedevidencefromthetextexamined.Donotforget
todocumentquotesandparaphrases.
Rememberthatthepurposeofacriticalanalysisisnotmerelytoinform,butalso
toevaluatetheworth,utility,excellence,distinction,truth,validity,beauty,or
goodnessofsomething.
Eventhoughasawriteryousetthestandards,youshouldbeopenminded,well
informed,andfair.Youcanexpressyouropinions,butyoushouldalsobackthem
upwithevidence.
Yourreviewshouldprovideinformation,interpretation,andevaluation.The
informationwillhelpyourreaderunderstandthenatureoftheworkunder
analysis.Theinterpretationwillexplainthemeaningofthework,therefore
requiringyourcorrectunderstandingofit.Theevaluationwilldiscussyour
opinionsoftheworkandpresentvalidjustificationforthem.

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